I note that the previous two reviews on this ship went to similar ports around the same time as me, and they had wildly different experiences. The truth is somewhere in between.

1. Boarding the ship was not a huge problem. Perhaps Fiona C had a problem because she arrived 5 hours before the ship sailed when all the clueless and old people arrived. RC recommended 2 hours prior. I arrived 2 hours prior and got on with minimal queues.

2. Getting off IS a problem when tendering is required. It was quite pathetic at Phuket; scheduled time was 2pm, we could only get tickets at 2pm. We got a ticket for boat NINE(!). They called us at 2:40 and then we waited in a cramped space for 20 minutes where everyone was pushing because they were all confused and frustrated. arrived in Phuket around 3:30. Read more